A Boy Made of Blocks

Published on Saturday 1st October 2016 by DJ Kirkby

As a person with autism and a mother of a son with autism this is a condition that is very close to my heart, and I do everything I can to help raise autism awareness including volunteering as an Autism Ambassador and fundraising in exchange for enduring events like the 10 mile Great South Run (you can fuel that particular insanity by sponsoring me here).

So I was delighted when LittleBrown sent me a signed copy of A Boy Made of Blocks because this is one of my best reads of 2016. It is an exceptionally well crafted, brutally frank, and introspective story. This is one of those books that gets right into your head, in the very best sort of way. I want to try and write this review without telling you too much about the actual story itself as I don’t want it to seem I am recommending it for any particular sort of taste in books = I think this is suitable for all tastes and from ages YA upwards.

Although the story is about a child with autism, it is also one that all parents can relate to, because ultimately this book is about becoming a father and the journey one must take to earn that title. Further to that this book is also one for people without children as it also has a strong focus on familial relationships and friendship. Finally, this book is also suitable for gamers because threaded throughout the story is the value that gaming can bring to children (and adults) of this digital age we exist in. It shows how the social aspects of gaming are intricate and as concrete as those in the world outside of gaming.

As the story unfolded it made me think of how similar it was to the process of caterpillar metamorphosis. Whilst reading, I was run through a whole gamut of emotions and surprised into tears more than a few times because of the sheer beauty of a particular aspect of the story. It reached my very soul in a way that very few books have done.